Ceramic Pumpkins

One of my favorite potters is Hsin-Chuen Lin. He produces some amazing pots. In fact, when I was just starting out, I would sit for hours with my iPad on my lap and ear buds stuffed in my ears and watch in wonder as he turned a pile o' mud into a marvel. It was absolutely fascinating!

One of the projects that he did was a ceramic pumpkin. I loved that he could throw a pot and then alter it into a pumpkin. I watched his video again and again until I thought I was up to the challenge. With images dancing in my mind as I sat at the wheel, I started to pull my clay up and up. Then pushed the clay out and closed the top. As I followed his steps, my lump of clay started to take on the form of a pumpkin!

I ended up using two glazing to pull off the look I was after. For the stem I used Duncan's Deep Sea Treasure. This is a great glaze that has a sea green color that floats to the surface while a bronzish gold breaks through on the high parts of the textured stem. I've used this on a number of pieces with texture and it really makes the texture pop. For the body I used Amaco's Ancient Jasper. This is an absolutely amazing glaze. Depending on the thickness and temperature will determine the final color of the glaze. It can have a rich red that is frosted with gold and hues of blue. Other times it may break mostly with a darker hue of green. The result is that every time you open the kiln you have a surprise waiting for you.